TOWER — A steady trickle of outdoor enthusiasts stopped by the Tower Department of Natural Resources office last Thursday afternoon to talk wildlife with area staff, and as expected, the biggest topic of conversation was deer.
“We had roughly seven people come in, which is pretty average for us, and some phone calls, too,” said Jessica Holmes, Tower area wildlife manager. “But we encourage folks to call us all year round and talk deer, talk wildlife. The focus is everything wildlife, and it has been for the past couple years.”

Deer first in line
Visitors were most curious about what the local deer herd looks like heading into the fall.
“They shared general observations of what they’re seeing, especially fawns, you know, this time of year, either single or twin fawns,” Holmes said. “We’re seeing primarily single fawns this year. As far as where we’re sitting at for the population level, I’m not too surprised.”
The number of fawns born each spring depends on a host of conditions, Holmes explained.
“We’ve got a lot of factors at play with the deer population,” she said. “Overall winter, is it severe? Is it mild? Was snow depth over 15 inches, (what’s the) duration and timing of spring green up, did we get a late snowfall in March that’s gonna push things back and kind of deteriorate the does?”
One of the most important factors is the availability of good snow shelter in the winter months.
“Are we having adequate snow shelter in the winter for these deer to survive the winters? That is a critical component and one that we’re looking at very, very heavily right now,” Holmes said.
Holmes said that the effects of multiple tough winters continue to show in herd numbers.
“We’ve had eight out of the last 11 winters that have been moderate to severe, which is impacting the population at a larger scale,” Holmes said. “I think we’re still on the rebound as far as trying to get that upward swing with the population.”

Wolves and winter
Holmes said the mild conditions last winter helped deer escape wolf predation.
“We had a milder winter, and so the deer were able to escape and run around, and predation was not as much of a factor,” she said.
Habitat, she added, remains a key piece of the puzzle.
“If it’s more fragmented across the landscape, the wolves also have an easier time running between those pockets,” Holmes said. “Is it more fragmented or do the deer have thousands of acres of conifer cover they can run in and kind of sneak around and be safer?”

Bears a close second
While deer were the main attraction, bear hunters had questions of their own.
“We talked about bear and bear numbers, as far as what the season is going to look like,” Holmes said. “There’s a lot of natural foods out and so what is harvest success going to look like?”
The answer: Expect a drop compared to last year.
“Last year was a bust as far as bear foods in the woods, so it was a really, really high record harvest last year,” Holmes said. “This year, with just the natural foods out, lower harvest is expected.”

Grouse on the cycle
The office also fielded a few calls about ruffed grouse season, which opens in September. Holmes said the population is trending lower from its peak.
“We’re past the peak of the cycle, the ruffed grouse cycle,” she said. “It just doesn’t look like the peak of two years ago when there were birds everywhere.”
Still, opportunities will be there, Holmes said, and DNR staff have been hard at work getting area trails ready for hunters.
“We’re mowing over 90 miles of hunter walking trails right now,” Holmes said. “Hunter walking trails provide excellent opportunities for hunters to utilize to hunt grouse.”